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US gives up on Indian troops

United States does not believe that India will send troops to Iraq in aid of the US-led occupation forces.

29 Sep 2003 09:32 GMT

Powell wants other countries to send troops to Iraq

Confessing this in an interview with CNN, US Secretary of State, Colin Powell said:

"The Indians…have indicated they would not be in a position to provide troops and I don’t expect that position to change."

Powell said he was disappointed, "but, you know, each nation has to make its own judgement."

"We can't order troops in by dictate. We have to persuade them that it is in the interest of international order," he said.

Rejection

India's rejection of US requests to send troops is a blow to the Americans, desperately seeking help from other countries for bolstering attempts to restore stability in the war-torn country.

On Friday, the US activated 10,000 Army National Guard troops for services in Iraq.

"The Indians…have indicated they would not be in a position to provide troops and I don’t expect that position to change"

Colin Powell, US Secretary of State

It already has 130,000 troops stationed in Iraq.

Washington has been pushing for a new UN resolution that would provide other countries the political cover to contribute troops.

"The Turks are looking at it, Bangladesh is looking at it, Pakistan is looking at it, other nations are looking at the possibility of contributing troops. But none has made a firm commitment," Powell said.

Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha meanwhile has said that India will judge any new UN resolution within the context of its own security concerns.

"Our troops are for duty in India, for the protection and security of India. So we will have to look at our security concerns and see whether, at that point of time, we have enough troops to spare," Sinha said.